INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Paul D. Stapleton
Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Superintendent's Study Group

The Superintendent's Study Group meets regularly. It is
composed of the chairmen of the eight regional study
groups, plus the VASS officers. We will distribute the
minutes of each meeting by means of a Superintendent's
Memorandum.
The minutes of the meeting of January 8, 1999, are
attached. If you have questions regarding this
information, please contact Richard Layman at (804) 225-2024.
Thank you.
PDS/dr
Attachment: A hard copy of this memo and its attach-
ment will be sent to the superintendent's
office.
Meeting of the Public Education Superintendent's
Advisory Council
Friday, January 8, 1999
Present: Superintendents' Group: Mark A. Edwards, Howard
E. Wainwright, Russell L. Watson, Philip L.
Worrell, Dennis W. Kellison, Steven R. Staples,
Walter McFarlane, superintendent of the
Department of Correctional Education, and
Alfred R. Butler, IV, executive director, and
Andy Stamp, assistant executive director, VASS.
Department of Education: Paul D. Stapleton,
Kirk T. Schroder, Richard W. Layman, M. Kenneth
Magill, Ms. M. Jo Bunce, Ms. Cameron Harris,
Ms. Diane Atkinson, Ms. Bethann Canada, ViJay
Ramnarain, Richard Schley, and Harry L. Smith.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction opened the
meeting and distributed copies of a press release on the
results of the first administration of the Standards of
Learning tests. The press release reported that only 39
(2.2 percent) of more than 1,800 public schools in
Virginia met accreditation standards in all four SOL
subjects--English, mathematics, science, and history and
social science.
Mr. Stapleton said he believes the public schools
can build on the results of the first tests and that
substantial improvement will occur in the years ahead.
Mr. Schroder, president of the Board of Education, said
the results of the tests in some schools, whose
demographics and fiscal resources would have predicted
low performance, "did well," indicating that all students
can "achieve the goal set by the state."
Mr. Schroder also reported the problems with the
timing of end-of-course tests will be resolved before the
next administration of the SOL tests. He said the Board
of Education is looking at a "three-to-five-week window"
in which the tests would be given before the end of the
current school year. He added that this would be "a
dramatic improvement" and stated that he does not believe
"we can do better than that" to solve the problem which
he called the "number one priority" for the board.
Dr. Butler, speaking for VASS, expressed
appreciation for the effort to deal with the problem and
congratulated the president of the board and the state
superintendent for working with school divisions on
issues related to the SOL tests.
Mr. Schroder also reported that if a public school
is warned that its accreditation is in jeopardy and the
school shows continuing improvement it will be designated
as a provisionally accredited school. This, he said, is
the Board of Education's interpretation of a provision of
the new school accreditation standards.
Ms. Canada, director of the Management Information
Systems, gave a brief visual presentation of the results
of the SOL tests that are available on the World Wide
Web.
Ms. Harris, assistant superintendent for assessment
and reporting, responded to questions about the SOL
testing program. She told the superintendents that the
department is working on ways to deal with SOL curriculum
problems. She said a document may be necessary to
clarify content and knowledge needed for history and
perhaps other subjects.
Mr. Stapleton emphasized the importance of improving
instruction for all children in public schools, and he
suggested that the Governor's Best Practice Centers may
help in achieving that objective. He said he has
recommended using a corps of retired teachers and
administrators to assist public schools throughout the
state. He expressed hope that the Governor will provide
funds to support this project.
Mr. Stapleton said the department is looking at
incentive efforts that might be adopted to help school
divisions meet accreditation standards. He said the two
main issues are focused on disparity among school
divisions and teachers' performance.
Dr. Edwards suggested that the superintendents read
an article by William L. Saunders in the December issue
of the School Administrators' magazine that deals with a
10-year study of the effectiveness of classroom teachers.
Charles Finley, director of accreditation, reported
on the status of the school accreditation program. He
said the Department of Education is trying to find one
school improvement plan that all divisions can use, and
is looking at problems caused by mobility of students.
Dr. Edwards stated that Henrico County has an annual
school improvement plan which he offered to share with
other superintendents.
Dr. Butler suggested that there should be greater
cooperation between the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools and the Department of Education in working
with school improvement plans. Mr. Layman, deputy
superintendent for external operations, said the
Assessment Committee of superintendents will be asked to
consider this and other issues when it meets on dates to
be selected.
Several superintendents said the Department of
Education needs to examine special education problems
related to the SOL tests. The state superintendent said
the department is trying to deal with that issue.
ViJay Ramnarain, architectural consultant in the
Department of Education, distributed copies of a school
safety audit requested by the General Assembly. The
superintendents were told that legislation in the 1999
General Assembly would require written school safety
audits to be kept in the central office of each school
division. Mr. Ramnarain said meetings are scheduled to
obtain as much input as possible on the safety audits.
Mr. Layman reported that another issue involves
summer school remediation programs. The superintendents
were reminded of differences in the length of programs
and the hours in which they are conducted. He said this
also is an issue that the superintendents should look at
and he indicated he will ask for their assistance.
Mr. Layman also noted that the Board of Education is
interested in recognizing outstanding students and
teachers in the state and would like to develop a list of
individuals to be honored. He asked the superintendents
to contact their counterparts in the regional study
groups and ask that the names of students and teachers be
provided.
Ms. Atkinson, assistant superintendent for policy
and planning, distributed a list of bills already
introduced for action by the 1999 General Assembly. She
said the Department of Education will provide a tracking
report on legislation each Friday on the website during
the current session of the legislature.